Have you noticed an increase of invitations from Referral Key? I've been getting more and more and since the invite looks and reads rather spammy [Are You Taking On New Clients?], I just deleted them without further investigating. But they keep coming, mostly from people I don't really know, so I decided to find out what's up with that.
I didn't have to spend waste a lot of time researching, thanks to a couple of very entertaining and enlightening blogs by Claire Diaz-Ortiz. Thanks to Claire - No, really, Thank You Claire - I am pretty sure that Referral Key is not for me!
Supposedly it "works" like this: you are invited to set up yet another profile to create yet another circle of friends business partners on yet another platform to whom you want to send referrals to or receive referrals from. I love referrals, of course, I am a Realtor® - so why would I choose to decline joining yet another network?
Well, referrals via Referral Key are encouraged by offering something of value - you send me a referral and I'll send you a box of steaks kinda thing. I don't care much for steaks - I am a vegetarian - but that's not the only issue I have with Referral Key. In our industry it is a violation to pay anyone but the broker a referral fee. I cannot - nor would I want to - send anyone a month supply of steaks in exchange for sending me a referral.
I suppose my broker could opt in and offer a steak to a referring broker. That broker can then take his 25 or 50% and give the rest to the agent or perhaps they could enjoy dinner together. At least it would make for a nice little bonding experience. Title Attorneys, lenders and inspectors couldn't even get a taste, I'm sorry to say, since kickbacks happen to be illegal.
There also is an option to not offer anything (I think) but it seems that that would take away the whole "otherness" of yet another network. So what would be a good reason to join then? I don't know. What I do know is that I do not want to compete for half a steak or round of golf or year's-supply-of-whatever ... It's a scary thought really that anyone would send a referral because of that!
Soooo ... Referral Key? Not me. I'll stick with my network and Active Rain.
I know those people. Whatever I don't know but should I can find out by reading their blogs, looking at their profile and picking up the phone. That is a true referral network.
Referrals are an integral part of my business - I want to make sure I only refer to the best based on their expertise, knowledge and personality and not because they are offering me (half) a steak.
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